imprison
verb
Simple meaning
Confine as if in a prison.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihmprizuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪmpˈɹɪzən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Confine as if in a prison; he does not let them go out without a chaperone"
“His daughters are virtually imprisoned in their own house.”
transitive
To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Confine as if in a prison; he does not let them go out without a chaperone"
Used this way, imprison is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“His daughters are virtually imprisoned in their own house.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “imprison in …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- incarcerate , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: imprison in …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use imprison
- “His daughters are virtually imprisoned in their own house.”verb
- “The suspects were imprisoned without trial.”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Putting someone in prison or in jail as lawful punishment.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.